Abercrombie & Fitch Names Brand President as Part of Revamp

June 10 (Bloomberg) -- Abercrombie & Fitch Co., the teen
apparel chain that’s retooling its image in an effort to revive
sales growth, named a British retail executive as the new
president for its namesake brand.

Christos Angelides, who comes from the U.K.-based clothing
chain Next Plc, will take charge of the Abercrombie & Fitch and
Abercrombie Kids brands, according to a statement today. When he
starts the job in October, Angelides will be responsible for
products, customer interactions and finances.

Chief Executive Officer Mike Jeffries has been trying to
rekindle Abercrombie’s appeal among teen shoppers, who are
flocking to fast-fashion retailers such as Forever 21 and Hennes
& Mauritz AB. His turnaround plan has included a management
shake-up. In addition to the hiring of Angelides, the company is
searching for a brand president to oversee the Hollister
nameplate, which caters to younger shoppers.

“Our brand is different than his, our customer is
different from his, but what he has is a customer focus -- and
that’s why he’s been successful and that’s what he’ll bring
here,” Jeffries said in a telephone interview. Angelides, 51,
has served as group product director for Next, giving him
experience managing a multibillion-dollar international
retailer, Jeffries said.

Abercrombie’s stock slipped 0.1 percent to $40.47 at the
close in New York. The shares have gained 23 percent so far this
year.

Revamping Business

The retailer is updating stores and adding more fashion-forward merchandise as it turns to social-media marketing to
engage shoppers. Abercrombie also has separated the CEO and
chairman roles and increased the size of the board, aiming to
improve corporate governance. Still, sales aren’t projected to
start growing again until at least 2016, according to analyst
estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

As part of the recent changes, the New Albany, Ohio-based
company promoted Jonathan Ramsden to the newly created chief
operating officer position in January, then hired Joanne C.
Crevoiserat in April to replace him as chief financial officer.
The company is “making good progress” on naming a Hollister
brand president, Jeffries said in the interview.

“We’re seeing absolute results, and we’re all very happy
about how we’re executing the long-range plan and just the tenor
of our business,” Jeffries said. “It’s a very difficult
sector, and there’s no way you can say we’re not doing well.”

Next Changes

Next shares fell 1.7 percent to 6,515 pence in London after
Angelides became the second long-serving executive to announce
his departure in less than a month. Finance Director David
Keens, who like Angelides has been with Next for 28 years, plans
to retire in 2015, Next said May 19.

Angelides helped build Next into a business that in its
last financial year made more money on a pretax basis than Marks
& Spencer Group Plc for the first time. With a greater market
value than its main U.K. competitor, Next now trails M&S only in
terms of absolute sales, helped by a business model that’s
adapted more quickly to the shift in consumer habits toward
online shopping.